Full Employment For Everyone
Our employment policy is informed by the belief that our Common Wealth government should be actively involved in job creation as it was for most of the last century. Therefore, the RepresentUs Movement believes that our representatives in our Common Wealth government should be actively involved in investing some of our Common Wealth in precisely that - our Common Wealth. This national job creation initiative means a guaranteed job when someone needs it.
Why?
Because when the private sector is in an economic downturn it is not just socially good policy for our Common Wealth government to become the employer of last resort - it also provides a far better inflation anchor - than the current one, which relies on artificially high unemployment, under-employment, and hidden unemployment.
How would it work?
A National Job Guarantee Initiative would translate to a national investment in local community social businesses, which support our natural heritage, our environment, our communities and our people. Why? Because this is what makes up our Australian society and our Common Wealth. A National Job Guarantee Initiative would not compete with private sector jobs, because it doesn't have to. There is plenty of activities that we need to work on - in Australia - for the greater good of our Common Wealth.
A Better Inflation Anchor
The remarkable thing about this initiative is that it responds flexibily to the ebbs and flows of the labour market. This means when there is increasing demand for labour in the private sector that our Common Wealth nation Job Guarantee initiative will naturally reduce. However, in tough economic times, (when the private sector is not employing enough people) our Common Wealth government picks up the slack.
What is Real Full Employment?
REAL full employment - means a targeted REAL Natural Rate of Unemployment at around 2% - not the neoliberal ideological mythology of NAIRU, which targets unemployment of around 5% - and massive underemployment and hidden unemployment - informed by dishonest measures of employment and unemployment.
The RepresentUs Movement actively supports and encourages business, however, we also believe that all Australian business should be committed to making a positive contribution to our Common Wealth. RepresentUs believes that our Common Wealth Parliament representatives should be making sure that the most economically vulnerable members of our nation are treated justly, whilst being positively motivated from our tax regime. (see our tax policy) However, we also recognise that some profit orientated business who exploit our Common Wealth, and do not give anything back to our communities - and our nation - are not benefiting the owners of our Common Wealth and should be taxed accordingly.
For these reasons, the RepresentUs Movement's employment policy includes:
- Utilising our labour market as an inflation anchor, which dynamically responds to the increases and decreases of demand for labour from the private sector. So, when labour demand is high in the private sector the Guaranteed Job Initiative Common Wealth government investment will go down. Conversely, when the labour demand is low in the private sector our Common Wealth investment will go up in the Guaranteed Job Initiative
- A job guarantee scheme in which any person willing and able to work will be offered a meaningful job by the government at a socially acceptable minimum wage along with training, support and mechanisms for transitioning participants to the private sector if s/he wishes
- Part time and casual workers can also participate in the job guarantee scheme on a part time basis to "top up" their hours of paid employment
- Government supported modern apprenticeships and traineeships will be fully subsidised by our Common Wealth government. This will include additional subsidies for all apprentices to 'tool up' by the time they have completed their apprenticeship
- Government sponsored micro and small business pathways - and incubators - with mentor support that educate and encourage participants, (to work together on new and innovative business models), which are predicated upon collaboration, cooperation and community based enterprises. This would be like a New Enterprise Incentive Scheme on steroids. However, it would also link into the important work that Cooperatives are currently contributing to our nation
- A targeted Natural Rate of Unemployment of around 1% to 2%, which guarantees full labour utilisation, an improved productive capacity of our overall economy and less socio-economic inequality - will be a legislated requirement of all future Common Wealth governments - in Canberra
- A Dignified Basic Income, (DBI) for every Australian citizen and family who cannot work for whatever reason. This DBI should be set according to the annual Consumer Price Index, (CPI) and be based on the most up - to - date research
Note: Currently, the most credible example of this was done in 2017, and that study show that a Dignified Basic Income is still significantly above the necessary basic survival amount required by millons of Aussies to have a basic 'no frills' standard of living
